Egyptian journalist's retrial adjourned as UN warns of 'assaults on press freedom'

What the report says

A criminal court in Cairo has postponed the retrial of Lina Attalah, the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Egypt’s independent news outlet Mada Masr, after her lawyers asked for a different judge. The hearing on Wednesday was adjourned until 18 November. Attalah is being retried on a charge of publishing false news, a case that could lead to imprisonment. The BBC reported that the case has drawn international criticism.

The retrial comes against the backdrop of a broader crackdown on independent journalism in Egypt. The UN has warned of increasing pressure on press freedom by the authorities, including harassment and persecution of journalists. Attalah told the BBC that the latest legal actions were meant to discourage the small number of remaining independent newsrooms. Mada Masr, which was founded 13 years ago, has been one of Egypt’s last prominent independent and investigative media outlets.

The article also noted that Attalah was recently convicted in a separate case over operating a website without a licence and ordered to pay a large fine, while Mada Masr was ordered shut down. She also discovered a previously issued one-year prison sentence in absentia in another case involving false news and licensing issues, which she is now challenging. The BBC said Egypt ranks very low on global press freedom indices, and rights groups have reported arrests of other independent journalists in recent months.